The Vatican Information Service is a news service, founded in the Holy See Press Office, that provides information about the Magisterium and the pastoral activities of the Holy Father and the Roman Curia...[+]

- Appointed Fr. Jose Trinidad Zapata Ortiz, rector of Christ the King Seminary in Texcoco, Mexico, as bishop of San Andres Tuxtla (area 13,495, population 968,266, Catholics 920,138, priests 86, permanent deacons 83, religious 103), Mexico. The bishop-elect was born in Fresnillo, Mexico in 1959 and was ordained a priest in 1990. He succeeds Bishop Guillermo Ranzahuer Gonzalez whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese was accepted upon reaching the age limit.

- Appointed Fr. Joachim Kouraleyo Tarounga, rector of the Major Seminary in N'Djamena, Chad, as bishop of Moundou (area 8,692, population 531,793, Catholics 180,000, priests 25, religious 65), Chad. The bishop-elect was born in 1958 in Donia, Chad and was ordained a priest in 1989.

- Appointed Fr. Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh, professor at the Major Seminary in Nha Trang, Vietnam, as bishop of Thanh Hoa (area 11,168, population 3,467,000, Catholics 125,674, priests 40, religious 148), Vietnam. The bishop-elect was born in 1949 in Ba Lang, Vietnam and was ordained a priest in 1992.

- Appointed Fr. Gabriel Penate Rodriguez, of the clergy of Jalapa, Guatemala, as bishop of the apostolic vicariate of Izabal (area 9,034, population 375,000, Catholics 250,000, priests 16, religious 55), Guatemala. The bishop-elect was born in 1957 in Esmeralda, Guatemala and was ordained a priest in 1984. He succeeds Bishop Luis Maria Estrada Paetau, O.P. whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese was accepted in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

- Appointed Fr. Vincenzo Bertolone, Missionary Servant of the Poor and study assistant of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as under-secretary of the same dicastery.

- Appointed Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, of the Mother of God in Moscow, Russia, as a member of the Congregation for Clergy and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

VATICAN CITY, JUN 13, 2004 (VIS) - In reflections at the Angelus prayer recited with the faithful in St. Peter's Square, Pope John Paul remarked that today in Italy and other countries the Church celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi, "the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. This is the feast day of the Eucharist, the sacrament in which Jesus left us the living memorial of his Easter, the central event in the history of mankind."

"It is so beautiful," he said, "that on this occasion the faithful gather around the Most Holy Sacrament to worship it, they accompany it in processions through the streets and express with so many signs of devotion their faith in the living Christ and joy for His presence."

He underscored his announcement at the Corpus Christi procession last Thursday in Rome that from October 2004 to October 2005 there will be a Year of the Eucharist, culminating in a Synod of Bishops on the theme of the Eucharist. He noted that this special year "is within the framework of the pastoral project that I laid out in the Apostolic Letter 'Novo millennio ineunte' where I asked the faithful 'to start out from Christ'."

Stating that "the Eucharist is at the heart of the life of the Church," the Holy Father said he would entrust the Year of the Eucharist "to Our Lady, 'the Eucharistic woman, ...she who, in the Year of the Rosary, helped us to contemplate Christ with her glance and her heart."

After the Angelus, the Pope pointed out that "tomorrow is the World Day of Blood Donors. Giving one's blood in a voluntary and free fashion is a gesture with a high moral and civic value. It is 'a gift for life' as the motto of this world day states. May donors, whom everyone greatly appreciates, increase in every part of the world."ANG/EUCHARIST:BLOOD DONORS/... VIS 20040614 (310)

VATICAN CITY, JUN 12, 2004 (VIS) - Today in Rome, at the Christian Brothers Generalate, Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, addressed a gathering of representatives of the religious communities involved in the Peace Communications Network.

"Last year," he said, "on the fortieth anniversary of the famous encyclical of Pope John XXIII, 'Pacem in Terris', the Holy Father chose as the theme for world communications Day: The Communications Media at the Service of Authentic Peace in the Light of 'Pacem in Terris'. He recalled that Pope John XXIII had identified as the four pillars of authentic peace: truth, justice, freedom and love. We have to guarantee that our own communications and those of the media are truthful. In that way, they can render a wonderful service; otherwise, they can sometimes be used 'in the service of narrow interests, national, ethnic, racial or religious prejudices'."

We also must guarantee, continued Archbishop Foley, "that our own communications and those of the media contribute to justice." In addition, if "the media are to serve freedom, they themselves must be free and correctly use that freedom Their privileged status obliges the media to rise above purely commercial concerns and serve society's true needs and interests."

In conclusion, the archbishop quoted Pope John Paul's words two years ago at the Shrine of Divine Mercy near Krakow: "Where hatred and the thirst for revenge dominate, where war brings suffering and death to the innocent, there the grace of mercy is needed in order to settle human minds and hearts and to bring about peace. Therefore, communication for peace should involve not the advocacy of a balance or preponderance of power but of a superabundance of love."CON-CS/COMMUNICATIONS:PEACE/FOLEY VIS 20040614 (280)